U.S. lags in broadband penetration rankings

Ahead of the U.S. in the rankings are the U.K., Netherlands, Canada, Sweden and Iceland who all have higher numbers of subscribers per 100 residents, according to OECD statistics from June 2006.

A new report, Digital Outlook: 2007 Outlook, by Parks Associates forecasts that over half (55 percent) of the population of the U.S. will subscribe to broadband by the end of 2007. At the end of 2006 they put the figure at 47 percent.

Geographically, broadband is still at its highest penetration in large urban areas with rural locations still left out of the picture. Moves are being made to drive funding and development in this area.

“The foundations of digital lifestyle applications and products are built on access services, including broadband Internet and television,” said Kurt Scherf, vice president and principal analyst with Parks Associates. “With the penetration of high-speed Internet exceeding 50% in 2007, we’re also witnessing shifts in the way companies are positioning their communications, entertainment, and information services as home technology solutions.”

Global broadband penetration is forecast to rise 9 percent in the next five years, resulting in around 480 million subscribers by 2012, according to ABI Research’s Broadband Subscriber Database, which profiles historical and projected subscriber trends categorized by operator, country and technology.

Tags: broadband, penetration, UK